I Am Shelby Lynne

1	Your Lies 2:54
2	Leavin' 3:11
3	Life Is Bad 3:18
4	Thought It Would Be Easier 3:55
5	Gotta Get Back 3:37
6	Why Can't You Be 4:19
7	Lookin' Up 3:28
8	Dream Some 4:12
9	Where I'm From 3:49
10	Black Light Blue 3:23

Barnes & Noble

It didn't take long for the first great album of the 21st century to show up. Shelby Lynne's I AM SHELBY LYNNE is the promise of her powerful voice finally and fully realized. Working with producer Bill Bottrell, who oversaw Sheryl Crow's TUESDAY NIGHT MUSIC CLUB, Lynne makes a clean break from an inconsistent Nashville career that saw her misunderstood and misrepresented. The touchstone for this startling rebirth is the 1967 soul classic DUSTY IN MEMPHIS - in fact, on a few tracks, Lynne's husky contralto and insouciant phrasing echo Ms. Springfield. But the feel embraces razor-edged, Phil Spector rock (the brash album opener, "Your Lies"); spare, acoustic-driven folk blues (Lynn's touching reminiscence of her Alabama upbringing, "Where I'm From"); and even a taste of jazz balladry in the winsome, heart-tugging "Dream Some." However seductive the ambience, Lynne's lyrics tell a harsh story - of pain, anger, deceit, faithlessness, for starters. Much of I AM SHELBY LYNNE soars on wings of hope and trust, even if those feelings are often obscured by treacherous shadows, and the music of her flight ought to tell us important things about ourselves, even as it helps Shelby Lynne understand who she is. David McGee

All Music Guide

After years of kicking around Nashville to great acclaim but nonexistent sales, Shelby Lynne got fed up with the system and reinvented herself on I Am Shelby Lynne as a tough and sexy singer, equal parts Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow. Though this album is undeniably classicist in approach, borrowing from classic R&B, country, soul, and rock & roll, it's cleverly constructed, as producer Bill Bottrell gives it a wonderful, warm production graced by slight contemporary flourishes (such as the rolling rhythms behind "Thought It Would Be Easier") that keep it fresh, not entrenched in history (even though its succinct ten tracks and half-hour running time are welcome holdovers from classic rock). Ultimately, of course, the triumph of the record belongs to Lynne, who finally sounds comfortable in her writing and voice. This music is so warm and welcoming, it's easy to overlook the darker themes running through the songs, particularly because Lynne's greatest strength is that she never oversings, shading her phrasing and drawing listeners in with her easy confidence and sexy rasp. This isn't an album that flaunts its strengths -- it's expertly constructed, subtle music that grows in stature with each spin, revealing Lynne as a trad rocker of uncommon skill and charm. It may have taken her years to finally find her groove, but I Am Shelby Lynne is so good, the wait seems worthwhile. Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Spin Magazine

...her great leap forward. Working with Bill Bottrell, Lynne embraces the soul-stoked song-symphony patented by the late Dusty Springfield... James Hunter